In the Midst of Panic
by Drunken Boxer
Summary: Set during Aliens in a Spaceship. Angela and Zack share a moment of comfort in the midst of all the frantic attempts to save Hodgins and Brennan.


Disclaimer: If I owned Bones, it would only be about Zack and Hodgins.

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If Dr Camille Saroyan noticed the tears glazed on his eyes, she didn't say anything as she walked out of the room. Zack Addy took a deep, steadying breath and turned his gaze back to the modified commercial stun gun on the table. He was trying extremely hard to master himself, his fears, but was having little success. His considerable intellect was distracted by thoughts of his best friend and his mentor both trapped in an unknown location quickly running out of air. His mind had never failed him before. It was not failing him now; he had discovered that the Gravedigger modified a commercial stun gun to generate the necessary amperage, that Ryan Kent punctured his own carotid artery in an attempt to extend his brother's life, all the things that would normally solve the case. But this time, it wasn't helping. This time, it wasn't just about solving the murder, it was his friends' lives on the line. They were going to suffocate and all he could do was figure out what had happened to the previous victims. Nothing he was doing had any effect on what was going on now.

Zack continued to stare at the instruments on the desk, though he saw nothing. Tears blurred his vision, threatening to fall. The face of Jack Hodgins flashed across Zack's mind. What if he didn't make it? Who would compete to be King of the Lab with him? Who would conduct bizarre experiments with him? Who would teach him about women? Who would help him refine his severely lacking social skills?

Zack gave a small gasp as he choked back a sob.

Hodgins' face morphed into Dr Brennan's. If she didn't survive... She was his mentor, his friend. She had won his respect before they had even met. She had offered him a position in the lab, a place in the family.

Zack knew he was being irrational. Losing control, letting his emotions take over, it didn't help. It wouldn't help him solve the case, it wouldn't save Hodgins or Dr Brennan, and yet he couldn't stop the single tear from escaping his eye and rolling slowly down his cheek.

"Hey Zack, have you..." Angela trailed off as she entered the room and caught sight of Zack.

She was suddenly struck by how young he looked. His intelligence and professional manner often overshadowed his youth, but in this moment, she saw how innocent and vulnerable he really was. Angela knew Zack was on his way to two doctorates and was in the ionosphere of the IQ spectrum, but when she looked at him standing there, tears in his big eyes that were partially covered by floppy hair, all she saw was a young man frightened for the life of his friends.

"Angela...I...I don't really do why, I just do how,' Zack blurted the first thing that came to mind, regardless of the fact that Angela had no idea what he was talking about.

She walked towards him, undeterred by his nonsensical outburst. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. They'll be okay," she spoke in a low voice, as if soothing a scared puppy. "Come here."

Zack let her envelope his body in a much needed hug. He took a shuddering breath and wrapped his arms around Angela, both of them simultaneously giving and receiving comfort and hope from the other.

"I know I'm being illogical and that the Kent boys case will help Agent Booth locate Dr Brennan and Hodgins, but I continue to let myself be distracted by thoughts of them suffocating, trapped underground, in the dark" Zack said quietly, his voice muffled by Angela's shoulder.

"Zack, honey, that's natural. You're scared. You care for them, of course you'll be thinking about them when you work. We all are." Angela pulled him a little tighter. "Besides, it's _Hodgins_ and _Bren_. Between the two of them they've probably concocted a dozen schemes to get out and planned revenge on the guy who did this."

Zack lifted his head off her shoulder. "You really believe they have the ability to increase their air supply long enough for Agent Booth to find them? Because there's no way for him to obtain the ransom money from Hodgins' group in the allotted time."

Angela gave him a small smile and kissed him gently on the cheek before releasing him from her comforting grip. "Listen to me, Booth will find them. They will be alive. We will all go to the diner and celebrate. End of story."

Using his lab coat, Zack wiped his face and sniffed. "You're completely right. It was foolish of me to have given up hope, though hope is sometimes irrational when one is presented with all the facts. Hodgins and Dr Brennan are extremely resourceful, much like boy scouts, except that Dr Brennan is not of the male gender. That was a figurative description, did you get it? My mother thought boy scouts would be a good way of integrating me with other boys of the same age, but I quickly found that I was not very adept at the skills they attempted to teach me, despite being capable of learning anything. I certainly could have learned them given enough time, but–"

"You're rambling, sweetie," Angela cut him off smoothly. She gave him an encouraging smile. "Get back to work, we've got friends to save. They're alive, don't throw in the towel just yet."

Zack frowned at her. "What towel?"

"Figure of speech, Zack, figure of speech," Angela called over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

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More friendship fluff because I was touched at how frantic Zack was during this episode. I hope everyone was in character. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Is anyone else exceedingly sad that Zack won't be in season 5?


End file.
